The Nathu La mountain pass in Tibet's Yadong County is the only Sino-Indian border trade channel of land route. Since the reopening of the border in 2006, the amount of trade to cross the pass has increased 60 times according to Yadong County government, Xinhua reported.

Data reveals that in recent years, the Nathu La mountain pass has demonstrated a momentum to gradually accumulate both popularity and logistics, and in 2014 more than 100,000,000 yuan passed through the border for the first time, 60 times greater than the decade prior.

At present about 40 Chinese vehicles cross the border from Nathu La to engage in trade on a daily basis, as well as near 100 border residents; and 20 Indian vehicles cross the border daily, with personnel numbering at 50.

Kelsang Dekyi, the deputy magistrate of Yadong County, said that the advantages of doing cross-border trade are continually increasing. In 2014, the number of people who participated in cross-border trade in Yadong County surpassed 600 individuals, with more than 40 different types of goods. The average annual income of border residents stand anywhere between 100,000 to one million yuan.

In the Yadong Renchengang border marketplace, an Indian border resident Tashi is selling various kinds of bronze goods. He says: "The border trade allows me to make several tens of thousands yuan per year, I'm very thankful to both the Indian and Chinese governments for creating this opportunity."

Migmar, a resident of Yadong County's Pagri Town, was the first frontier resident to engage in cross border trade when the Nathu La pass reopened in 2006. He says that in the beginning, annual income was only around 10,000 yuan, but now it has already reached 200,000 yuan, "When the Nathu La mountain pass opened, it changed the lives of our families".

The Nathu La mountain pass is located in Yadong County of Shigatse City, standing at an elevation of 4,318 meters above sea level. It connects the closest contact points between the Indian and Chinese overland trade routes, and also is the world’s highest elevation network of roads dedicated to trade and commerce.

Due to historical reasons of close, the border was reopened in July of 2006 after more than 40 years of being sealed off. The Indian and Chinese governments separately opened the Renchengang border marketplace and the Trango border marketplace, beginning a new era for border-trade in Yadong County.

File photo shows that a truck is getting through the China-India Nathu La border trade channel.[Photo /Xinhua] 

 
File photo shows that an Indian merchant is talking to Chinese customers.[Photo/Xinhua]